On this day in space! Oct. 13, 1773: Astronomer Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy before we ever knew it was a galaxy
On October 13, 1773, French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy, cataloging it as M51. Messier worked as the chief astronomer of the Marine Observatory in Paris.
On October 13, 1773, French astronomer Charles Messier discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy, cataloging it as M51. Messier worked as the chief astronomer of the Marine Observatory in Paris. He was scanning the sky for fuzzy objects that could confuse comet hunters. At the time of its discovery, Messier could not see the spiral structure of M51 and failed to identify it as a galaxy.
Seventy-two years later, astronomer William Parsons observed the whirlpool shape and mistook it for a spiral nebula. Edwin Hubble later proved that M51 and similar features are galaxies. Located about 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Venatici, M51 is considered a textbook spiral galaxy. It has a magnitude of 8.4 on the astronomical brightness scale, allowing observers to view it through a small telescope.
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suspect that a close gravitational interaction with a neighboring galaxy, NGC 5195, caused M51's striking spiral shape. Researchers state that this neighbor may have passed through the main disk of M51 about 500 million years ago, compressing gas and triggering increased star formation.
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Original publication: 14 October 2026 02:30
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